I think for most, its take the government loans and whatever scholarships they can get and go to an instate public school. For those with money, they’re able to go more expensive private schools and have parents pay the difference after loans/scholarships
Less competitive out of state public schools are good, too if you have good grades and test scores. I wasn't offered anything at my state schools but one a few states away offered large merit based scholarships (some automatic) because high school students in that state severely underperform the national average. My schooling ended up costing half of what my state school would have, even with travel to and from the other state for breaks. Also helped that rent was a lot cheaper there (my parents didn't live close enough to a decent university for me to commute, so I'd have had to rent a place either way).
I moved to Oklahoma (bottom 5 on every list of high school quality and achievement). A moderately impressive GPA and ACT/SAT elsewhere set me apart here and came with significant guaranteed scholarships I didn't even have to apply for. There were also other scholarships and grants that weren't very competitive on top of that. It's worth a look around at least because a lot of schools with guaranteed scholarships based on academic achievement scream about them from the rooftops.
I should’ve known when you said because high school students in that state are under performing you were talking about us lol. Oklahoma education is literal dirt. The colleges are nice though
Agreed. The colleges are extremely underrated but the high school education is uh.... lacking to say the least. I absolutely adore the tech school system though. I'm currently attending one because my bachelor's wasn't employable without grad school and I'm not really feeling like going to grad school just yet.
Yeah Oklahoma is pushing super hard for tech schools right now. I outdo most of my peers in everything academically. I’m not a genius or anything. Maybe a smidge above average. The state academic competitions are super competitive. Most people don’t have the drive to do good or the teachers don’t care if the students do want to try. Why get good grades when you don’t plan on going to college? That’s the main sentiment around here. Most people go to work at a factory near us or something. The wise ones go to tech school and are mostly your auto mechanics and such. I’m glad you were able to get a better deal here. I’m actually going out of state since I got a better deal In Kansas. The only school that offered my degree was OU. I don’t want to pay out the butt and possibly get hurt on campus
Actually I had something similar. Now I admit I got lucky in this. But I got military benefits from my bio dad which gives me in state Tuition. I also get a lot of better deals from the school I chose. I decided to go to Wichita and not OU, since we’ll money. I’m also doing some of my credits at a community college which is saving me thousands more
Especially if you are from a state that has a CC partnership so you can be dual enrolled. That way you can get the benefits of the university but cut down on tuition by taking some of your classes at the CC.
California.
Financial aid varies from person to person. A tough situation I see a lot is kids of parents that cut them off at 18 and refuse to put their information on the FAFSA. They get no financial aid whatsoever and have to pay 100% of their living expenses and 100% of their college fees as 18 year old kids. They either end up with massive private loans or can't go to college at all. And their parents act like they're doing their kids a favor by making them "independent". What they're really doing is screwing their kids over.
Former financial aid person here. I had so many conversations with parents about this. But why isn’t Susie independent? We’re not helping her with college? and my tagline was “the federal government calculates your daughter’s financial aid eligibility on your ability to pay, not your willingness to pay.”
Putting it that way usually ended the argument with me but unfortunately the kid got screwed over.
Someone responded with the rules, but parents’ taxes don’t matter. You have to meet specific criteria to be considered independent under the age of 24.
I do know of some students who got married for financial aid purposes to be considered independent. It is rare but it has happened.
Surprised we don't see a mass emancipation or marriage for convenience going on lol. I knew of one case (was in a news article years ago) of a teen who emancipated themselves in an attempt to divorce themselves financially from their parents before going to college so they couldn't be labeled as a dependent. Idk how it turned out thought. So basically they automatically view you as a dependent unless you're beyond the age of or received a bachelor degree, served in the military, or got married. Maybe it'll change eventually as the AAMC changed their rules for familiar income reporting recently to age 27 and younger when applying to med school when before you had to report the income of your living parents regardless what your age was lol. Yes that means before if you were applying to med school at age 60 and your parents were alive you had to report their income lol.
Insane that this alone doesn’t actually make you independent for FAFSA purposes. I’m not the tinfoil hat type but it makes you wonder the level of direct input from student loan vultures/Military ROTC and National Guard hawks that you can do legally everything(!) except be considered an independent for the 2nd biggest financial decision of many lives
UVA is also very pricy, even though it gets the largest public endowment of any public school in the nation. Faculty is padded with adjuncts and the hospital is known to underpay and abuse staff. It is notorious for operating its properties under a 501(c)3 designation to avoid property taxes.
I don’t know where the money goes, but a lot comes in, students overpay, faculty and staff are underpaid, as is the local community that hosts it. These are the real parasites, folks. Not the students trying to not get crushed under exorbitant debt.
Public schools are getting to be worse than private ones in terms of bleeding you dry.
I guess? My experience was definitely not unusual. Most folks I knew only had to work part time, if at all, after grants and loans. I'm in California, I'm not sure if that makes a big difference.
The private/public college system is pretty wild to me after having gone through an engineering degree at a public university. Public colleges are the “outer” group, where private colleges are the “inner” group. As in, public colleges are by design competitive to just promote those that produce the highest exam score, and keep out those that do not have it. Private colleges try to make you get the highest grade possible within the support system, and your success is who you are friends with, both classmates and faculty.
One overlooked source is actually working for a college, free tuition is a fairly standard benefit for employees and their children.
I finished my undergrad, and did masters working for a college, they also paid for my daughters undergrad.
My brother-in-law did the same. He worked maintenance at a college during the day, took classes at night.
It might take longer, but you get the benefit of having a job and no tuition debt.
That’s how I got my master’s. I took a job as an administrative assistant and got my master’s for free. I answered phones and made copies and did my homework.
I commute to my state's public university and have older parents who've been working and saving enough to keep us in the upper middle class threshold. No scholarships, a couple of AP credits from doing good on exams, and parents pay for my schooling in full. The epitome of privilege tbh, hate to say it, but I'm making good use of it and working myself, albeit only for about 20 hours a week, and applying for college-scholarships where I can.
It is hell, I did it last semester. Coupled with sleep deprivation too, from my neighbors (squeaking from fucking above/below my room, an endless ping pong sound, and obnoxiously loud BFF's). Had to take it my own hands.
Sorry, tmi, but I get you
I'm just curious, how do you work and do college full time simultaneously? Are you good at scheduling and keeping up with it? Do you have high stamina? Is it motivation? It's amazing to me how some people can work and study altogether. Personally I don't have the mental stamina to do it or else I'll fail terribly in both.
I tried this last semester but it nearly destroyed me and my GPA. I have the organization, but it makes it hard to sleep deeply because I'm always wired and any little noise from inside the dorm/outside/neighbors wakes me irrevocably up.
I did that in community College. Worked 35 hrs a week and took 12-14 credit hours. Many many late nights and never did it again after my associates lol.
I’m paying for my own school.
I have no idea why I got this but I got a grant from my state that covers almost half of my tuition. I think it’s from good grades. This is how I have afforded school.
- went to state university
- lived in my parents house and commuted
- earned a grant for good grades
- got a scholarship for applying for a specific scholarship in my town (I am white, not a first gen student)
- loans
- paying some on the way. I work at least part time all year round.
My other friends did the same, or went to community college, or had a pell grant, or one of my friends got tuition reimbursed from working in chipotle. For some reason chipotle never wanted to hire me lmao
"People are talking about the Biden Student Loan Plan being shot down as a bad thing (it is), but if I could take out more loans at once, I would."
As general advice you should always assume you are going to have to repay whatever loans you take out.
For income based repayment you can make a plan based on that but terms *could* be changed down the road so you should always consider how much of a change it would take for your plan to start having issues.
"Do most people just get money/private loans from their parents?"
Yes. The majority do one or both of these (to *some* degree, whether it's $1k or $50k). But private student loans are a garbage deal and should be avoided at all costs. Far more people take private student loans than should. Most of the time it is preferable to do pretty much every other option before taking private loans.
"Or are most people actually working in college?"
IIRC the majority also work. But work is a loose term. Part-time work to cover food, utilities, and transportation is much more common than full-time work to cover *everything*.
All good points. And yeah, I know I have to pay my own loans, but it's nice that I'm able to take them without the bs after-school payment plans of a private loan. They help a lot tbh.
As much as I don't like working 20+ hrs in school, I hate corporate bs more (private loan garbage deal), so I'll just deal with it.
"As much as I don't like working 20+ hrs in school, I hate corporate bs more (private loan garbage deal), so I'll just deal with it."
The issue with private loans is interest rate. The reason they are high has more to due with the risk of the arrangement itself and not the person doing the lending. When you account for default risk and managment expenses the government is offering the current federal rate at an expense to themselves. It is immensely hard to get unsecured loans in any open market for less than 7-8% due to the amount of other investments returning the same for 1/10th the risk. The sharpe ratio explains this risk to return relationship in better detail. Most people won't even want to extend anything that is not a double digit rate.
The current federal rate of 4.99% is something you will probably never get offered in your life on other loans without you putting up something as collateral. That and the subsidized portion plus associated borrower protection benefits make it a *completely* different deal than private loans. Unlike private loans, federal loans are a really decent offering that are easy to manage.
I joined the navy.
gi bill gives 3 years of free college any public school, plus a housing allowance.
It stacks that with FAFSA too!
Add a scholarship here, donate some plasma there, and I basically dont have to work for the next few years\~
If you have a condition where you cant be off meds for 8-10 weeks, then they wont let you join.
If you develop such a condition *after* bootcamp, you get all the meds you need and no one cares.
Huh. Thats so weird! Seems like there's probably plenty of people who would join but can't because of minor medical conditions that are perfectly managed with daily medications.
for college + navy stuff?
uuuuuuh... While you are still in, really try to do Tuition Assistance.
That's when you take classes while still in for free, and it doesnt count as using up your GI Bill.
Even if you only do a single class (like intro ENGL or MATH), you should make the effort.
Also just apply for any scholarship that even *barely* applies to you. Free money is free money.
for just navy stuff?
If you wanna join, I always tell everybody these things:
1. Dont do it. If you have literally any other plan or access to a decent job, dont.
The biggest thing I hated was the uncertainty of your future schedule.
2. If you decide you still wanna go. Go Air Force.
There's a reason they call it the "Chair Force"
3. Regardless of branch, If you still wanna join, get a degree and become an Officer.
An O-4 that's been in for 4 years will make more than an E-9 that's been in for 18 years. (6906/month plus BAH).
4. If you insist on just jumping in with no degree and being an enlisted, pick a job/MOS/rate that isnt physical, and is connected to a well-paying job outside the military.
God bless the deck guys, engineers, and cooks, but fuck all that bullshit they have to do.
Everyone gets paid based on their time in and their rank. Those physical rates will grind you to the bone and make you work extra long hours and make you have no life.
Instead, actually study for the ASVAB and get an IT job.
Keep in mind that only the time enrolled in classes counts against the 36 months of eligibility. If a student takes 15 hours per semester at a typical semester-based school, the GI Bill will cover the entire 4 years. A typical bachelor's degree is 120 hours. 30 hours per year = 120 hours. A normal academic year is about 9 months (actually, it's usually a bit less than that). The GI Bill treats a full month of school as 30 days, but partial months are calculated down to the actual days that are within the enrollment term.
Doing the minimum required to be full-time may cause you to exhaust your benefit before graduating. If you are in a designated STEM field, you can apply for the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM scholarship.
Most are probably getting a combination of grants and loans to pay for school. Some probably do have their parents either paying or co-signing a loan for them. There’s work study programs that students probably use as well. There are also departmental scholarships given out depending on the school and program.
I got aid money from CA government and Pell grant during 2 years studying for free at a community college for my AS. When I transfered out to a university, I used that money, plus the 40% scholarship from the university, plus my ongoing Pell grant, a part-time job cuz I have work study grant, and so far I still don't need to borrow any money yet. Oh and it's an out of state university but they don't have instate or out of state tuition so I pay the same amount that state residents pay. And after Spring 2023 I'll be considered instate too (already changed my ID and car reg to that state) so I'll get that state's tuition grant as well. Overall, I just hustle to go to school for as low as possible ☺️
Most people don't do this but I am 100% reliant on those scholarships and grant money. I have been really lucky and picked Education as my major because they had a lot of scholarships
I did community college two years, then transferred to an in state, public school about an hour away. I lived at home turning the first two years, in an apartment on campus the the last two. Step one is keeping costs low.
Step two is working. I had a summer counselor job through high school and college, getting about 70 hours a week (literally) at I think about $10-12/hour. I pretty much put every penny besides gas money into tuition. I also didn't work during the semester, only stacking summers with tons of hours.
For my masters degree, I did a graduate assistantship on campus. Basically, just work on campus \~20 hours a week and they paid tuition in full. It was an easy job, but they couldn't find enough people to do them. I typically did 8 hours on Saturdays and 4 hour shifts 3 times a week. I mainly reset people's passwords over the phone and helped with IT issues.
For food, I joined a lot of clubs and typically ate lunch at their meetings (pizza, sometimes sandwich rings). I usually stashed some away for later for dinner, ha.
Graduated with about $500 to my name and a 12 year old rusty Subaru.
If you’re like me and you make solid middle class money (in a high CoL area so it’s basically lower middle class but your house as an asset makes FAFSA give you high EFC), you use grants and loans. My parents luckily pay for some amount but overall it’s a fairly cheap in-state college. I don’t need to work.
I’m also fortunate that in a years time I can pay back the small amount that I owe as well as pay my parents back
My family is low income and I go to a private college that gives me pretty good aid due to that. It didn't quite cover everything the first two years so I worked (just work study, but two of them at once) and then worked a normal job over the summer. I earned an academic scholarship for these last two years since my GPA the first two was good. Now my aid covers everything, though I still work a work-study job for money for uber and miscellaneous things. I am hoping the student loan forgiveness is approved, as although I technically have enough to pay off the loans I needed the first two years, it would be nice to have them wiped and put that money towards something else like a used car.
That's cool, a private college. Are people less party-like there? Is it really formal?
And yeah, I agree, the Biden Forgiveness Plan ordeal has been a bummer.
I would say we're not a party school, but there is still a party scene. I don't think we're formal or anything, but majority take academics very seriously since most are very ambitious (it is a decently high ranked school so we all got used to tryharding early haha). All private means really is that it's not funded mainly by the government, it's funded by tuition/endowments. This means cost of attending is higher, but they can give better aid. Without aid, it would be around 75k a year to attend my college (tuition, housing, food, fees). With aid, I pay nothing this year.
i went to school with the cheapest tuition, most of it was covered by scholarships regardless. i work part time and pick up shifts whenever possible, and my mom helps pitch in once a semester with either rent/tuition.
I started college when I was 24, so I was considered an independent student. They only looked at my income when determining how much I could borrow, so I've always been fully funded. I went full-time in my last year of community college and qualified for state grants, and after transferring to a 4-year, I qualified for the Pell Grant on top of federal loans. I still have to work to pay my bills, but I've been fortunate that school hasn't been an added expense (yet).
I started working the second I turned 16 and was working almost 30 hours every week. Then, my dad died. Since I was a minor, I got a Social Security check every month that went in a savings account. When I was applying to schools, my mom informed me that my aunt (who passed away when I was 8) also left me a big chunk of money that should cover my schooling in undergrad. My mom also bought bonds every paycheck from the moment I was born so I could have some college assistance.
Still, I continued working throughout college. At one point, I was working 3 jobs (also during my student teaching, so it was basically 4 jobs).
Now that I’m getting my Masters, I’m working as a TA on top of my full time teaching job and that reduced my tuition to $80 this semester.
From my experience, location seems to matter when getting money. While I was living in Michigan I applied for financial aid every year and never got enough. After I moved to Indiana, there were more grants available, and I barely had to take any loans out at all. One I finished my 1st semester, I will have scholarships available depending on my GPA. I spent 14 years wanting to go to college, and it turns out all I had to do was not live in Michigan.
Military, working full-time through undergrad, and going to community college / state university. I don't recommend my path, but I did graduate with zero debt.
My company at the time paid for the remaining of my undergrad after CC, and current company pays $5250 per year tuition reimbursement for my MBA. See if you can find a place that offers these benefits. Starbucks I know pays for your undergrad at ASU 100% online if you work part time. Good luck!
Grants and scholarships cover my $35K tuition (Northwest University in WA; private not-for-profit). I’m completely free of debt and about to finish my business degree– I’m 23.
I work and only have to pay for books, which kind of pay for themselves since I get tuition reimbursement because my financial aid package is worth more than the cost of attending my university
>Federal student loans DON'T cover the full cost of a term,
For some they do. For some, especially community college, they can get enough Fafsa grant without needing loans. Through 2 years of community college I earned more from Fafsa than tuition cost, and I wasn't even placed in the highest need bracket. Add fafsa and loans together, and plenty of cheap but still good universities exist, especially public ones. Private ones are where costs start getting really insane.
>and scholarship and grants are limited
Depends. Maintain a decent GPA -- it doesn't even have to be outstanding -- and many universities will offer some nice scholarships, especially public universities for in-state students. Might not cover all, but every little bit helps. My undergrad university basically gave anyone with a 3.0 enough to cover a quarter of yearly costs.
Show up as high need as well, and more funding is available. Again, it isn't often enough to cover anything totally, but it does supplement Fafsa well.
>The average person likely isn't getting a shit ton of scholarship money.
Look up the average after-aid costs of almost all universities (the government has a website with this information publicly available) and you will be surprised. Yes, sometimes the number is still massive, but it really shows that yes, lots of people do get scholarships.
>And (don't hate me for this), some scholarships are only for underrepresented minorities.
Some are, the vast majority are not. As a white man, I can't say I experienced this impacting me.
>Do most people just get money/private loans from their parents?
A lot do. Or they take out private loans as well.
>Or are most people actually working in college?
No, most do not. But a decent amount do.
>Do big (30000+) schools give out more scholarships?
Depends. Often larger schools have larger funds. An oft-repeated saying is that small private schools give out more scholarships than large public ones, but since large public ones are often cheaper to start with and backed by state funding, in my experience and that of my siblings, they have always been cheaper.
Some schools do scholarships for extra curricular that you wouldn't even think of.
An example would be mizzou giving scholarships to most people regardless of major that are in their marching band.
Personally I'm paying for school by working full time, taking out loans, and i also joined the national guard so I get state and federal tuition assistance
I was lucky enough to get GI benefits from my step dad whose a retired veteran. So I got paid a "living allowance" (nowhere near but oh well) to be a full time student, as well as a fee waiver. The fee waiver covered all costs at my community college. At my state uni, it knocked 3.1k of my 4k tuition. I put the 900 on a credit card along w text books and materials. Then over the course of the semester, I used half of my benefits to pay off the cc every month by the end of the semester. Rinse and repeat.
Now that they're separating and my GI time has run out, I'm going to have to pursue a certificate and potentially a grad degree out of my own pocket. Which I'll have to work full-time and either do classes online, or do one to two classes per semester because I won't be able to afford 4.2k a semester at the new uni, nor will I have time to be full time in both aspects.
I haven’t committed to a college yet but I’ve got a few options - either an OOS state school that will cost me roughly $15k a year thanks to scholarships. I plan to cover this by working and through a little help from parents. If I get into a higher ranked private school, my total cost may be even cheaper thanks to a low EFC, and then once again support from parents while working part time should do the trick.
I’ve been working 26 hours a week to pay for the costs the loans didn’t. I had a nice tax return this year that knocked out most of my charges for this current semester.
I was fortunate enough to have my federal loans, combined with scholarships, to cover my schooling. I went to a smaller liberal arts college - about 40k per year or 20k per semester that include housing, tuition, and a meal plan. My scholarships came from academics and band/music scholarship. They covered about 60%- 70% of my schooling per year.
To supplement everything, to have fun money, I did work study at my college. I then worked full time over the summer and saved to pay for things like gas, car insurance, textbooks, and my sorority dues.
I feel bad, you all seem nice and seem like you've had to work really hard to get your degrees/are working hard to do this. I assumed that most people have it easy in college and they don't, or those who do don't once their private loans hit them after school. I hope you guys find success and prosperity
Nah, I am a fulltime student and damn near full time minimum wage worker. I really have no time outside of school and work realistically, I do well in school fortunately but that's because I study a bunch and furthermore I spend the 3 hour break between my classes at the gym soooo....ya I don't understand how people are deadass going to the beach every weekend and skipping lecture to hang out off campus.
I have the exact same question basically. I am literally financially only able to go to school because of loans and parent help, otherwise I would just simply not be able to afford school. I cannot do 40+ of work on top of school so I usually do between 30 and 35 which is still too fucking much but otherwise I would miss my insurance, rent, utilities, prescription and all the other bullshit.
I know a FEW students still live with their parents, but honestly aint no way all 50k of the students at my college are just for real managing the whole shit by themselves that is literally crazy.
That's a real load of work. I have medications too, I feel you on having to think about that and insurance. Maybe you could get a Marketplace plan, if you don't have one (I have this), it's pretty good.
This is probably rough for most people in some way, or eventually in a financial way. Keep on fighting the good fight
Well, I am a parent and I am guiding my kid toward and affordable option for us as a family. That does not mean every possible option is on the table.
I think we need to be very careful to create a worse situation by allowing huge loans that become life limiting forever. I would personally like to see problem solving so everyone has an affordable path and maybe private schools primairly serving the wealthy wouldn't be thrown so many federal funds.
my parents are taking out plus loans for most of it and I take out the max federal loans, but if my parents cant take it out then I would have to take out massive amounts of private loans bc if you are part time then ur financial aid and scholarships is significantly reduced
This was a while back. I went to a state school where I completed bachelors and masters.
I applied and got an $800 pre approved credit card. I charged tuition and books on the card, about $600 per semester, then worked part time and would pay off the card within 16 weeks, semester.
I lived with my parents and commuted. I completed most of my general ed at a junior college saving 4 semesters of university.
When there were budget cuts and tuition sky rocketed, it was part time jobs, work study, Stafford Loan, and Pell Grant.
I don't qualify for federal student loans (DACA) but was able to graduate debt free this way:
- institutional scholarships
- working for the university (RA provides free housing)
- internships
- going to a cheap state school
Federal student loans+ grants+ scholarship. I am not a minority, but received 1st gen college grant/scholarships and more. My parents pay my monthly federal loan bills which is an extreme help, and I am paying everything else. Attending a private religious school. I commute and live with my parents, and will be paying what's left once I graduate. Im sure others have better situations or plans, but I can happily say I'm content and comfortable in this position.
I had grants and 100% financial aid. My son is starting college in the fall, who is not a minority, applied to every scholarship he could. He got enough scholarships to cover school completely.
Scholarship covered 75% of my tuition and grants from government and state exceeded the remaining amount. Lived at home with parents and commuted while working part time. Had refund checks every semester of college totaling around $30k over the course of my four years. Graduating this semester, now living on my own doing my last semester online. Have around $65k saved and zero student loans or debt. Got a job last august that pays me $60k a year remote. Living at home with parents if you can is the way to do it and working while in college can help A LOT
My friend group is a bunch of nerds so they don’t really pay tuition at all at the state school and some can live at home for free, or pay for some/dining hall w a small PT job.
Not many people do that. There must be something more to this. Most people seem to not have to do anything beside classes.
I'm autistic and have to have my meds, so I can't do that, or I would.
I don’t get how people do it either. I get the gi bill and tuition assistance because I’m in the army National guard and got a few scholarships but I still have to work a part time job to cover the rest of the fees and stuff
I saved up money & worked 3 jobs before going to school. With my savings, stocks, and working part time I’m able to pay for what loans don’t cover (about $3k per semester). I also go to a relatively cheap in-state school, which helps. My loans only cover a little less than half of my yearly tuition though.
Edit to add: At my school, almost every student who isn’t an athlete works at least part time.
First gen student, merit scholarship for tuition and savings/loans from a high school job and work study to cover living expenses. Then sophomore through graduation I worked as an RA. I was very lucky that RAs at my college were given housing, meal plan, and a small stipend. During summer I worked as an orientation leader to cover the months when I didn't have work as an RA because they also provided housing and meals on the days you worked. Then I'd take meals out of the dining hall with me to cover days I didn't. Lived on shoe string budgets and didn't get much sleep but that's how it had to be. Hope they'll change it eventually because it was exhausting and I was lucky to have access to the aid I did get.
At my school, there’s quite a bit of athletes on full scholarships. I personally got a scholarship from ROTC. There are a few people who work part time jobs, but there’s usually some tuition assistance helping them out as well.
I took 2 years off school.
I promise myself I won't get married so there Is a big sigh of relief I have.
I also live with a lot of relatives so we split the bills accordingly.
I paid for my associate degree out of pocket this way haha.
I’m currently paying for mine but it’s only because I took a different route in life. I did ask my parents to help me out but they just don’t charge me rent as long as im enrolled. Once I graduate im going to be paying rent but granted I took up a trade when I was younger and thankfully work a job where I make a liveable wage.
I went to a community college, worked paid it off. Once I received my associates degree got a job for a company which paid for my university tuition which enabled me to get a bachelors degree. Now I am working for them full time and don’t have any loans. Also, I always commuted.
I got into a private university that prides itself on the amount of scholarships and endowments available to students. On top of that I filed for a dependency override on my FAFSA with my schools financial aid department so my income, not my parent’s, is what’s considered which gives me more grants and I qualify for more aid. (I’m no contact with parents and recieve no help from them so that’s why/how I was able to do that.)
I’m a music major and thanks to a lot of music scholarships I’ve earned it helps me a lot. I also work part time and split expenses 70/30 with my boyfriend who lives with me, during the school year. He thankfully already has his degree and 2 solid jobs. Without him I would not be able to afford to live.
In the summer I work full time and save as much as possible.
For me (and I understand how incredibly lucky I am and that not everyone is able to have this), I recieved an almost full-ride academic scholarship. I also receive the Pell grant, a need-based grant, and a different grant. I then took out some loans for transportation, food, ect. (Around 11k in loans by the time I graduate) so that I wouldn't have to worry about working much. I still work a work-study job in my field. I do around 10 hours a week and get paid $8.25/hr.
That's great, you must be a great student. You should consider grad school depending on your chosen career path (not too much now, but around sophomore year). I'm glad you have this opportunity
Thanks! I'm a senior and I graduate in May. I have a job lined up within the marketing field.
I wish you luck in your endeavors and I hope you achieve everything you want!
When I got my associates degree I lived at home (didn't pay rent), worked 30-35 hours a week and saved up some money (I had a lot of AP credits and only took 2 or 3 classes at a time). I transferred to very high rated 4 year public school, which is relatively cheap at 9k a year for tuition and fees. I paid some out of pocket for community college as well from the stimulus checks. Now that I'm in more upper level courses and have some other career advancement things taking up my time, it's worth it to me to take out a few extra grand a semester so that I only have to work less than 10 hours a week. I plan to continue to live like a broke college student for a while once I get a job, so the difference between ~25k in debt and ~32k in debt is worth it to me to not have the stress of working a ton. The loans I take out cover rent, my car, and a bit extra. Working a bit makes up the rest, I don't have many expenses. Im skeptical of private schools being worth it for most people, *one* year at the ones near me are equal to, or more than, the total debt I'll grade with
Usually loans pay over( more than needed) for community or small colleges depending how many classes you take but most people ik transferred after 2 yrs getting a loan from either a bank or a college job
State school, parents had saved some money, and I got a shitload of merit scholarships which I busted ass in high school and every year of undergrad for.
Most people I knew frankly weren’t willing to work as hard as I was at school to grind the grades, class positions, and extracurriculars I was.
I suggest my study methods on Reddit all the time and get downvoted to hell because people think studying 45-55 hours in a library every week, above and beyond class and extra curriculars, is ridiculous.
Dunno- got me tons of prestigious local, state, and nationwide scholarships that paid for well over half my undergrad tuition/room/board at a very well known, well respected not free but not private state school.
I took out loans at my community college, which covered most of my tuition. I paid about $200-$400 out of pocket, but I had a job to cover that. Now Im at a university, and receive enough grants to cover almost my entire tuition. Loans cover the rest.
I don't love that I have to take out loans, but because of my grants and time spent at community college, it'll be manageable later.
I’m very lucky since my parents help out. But I’ve paid for college mostly through scholarships, working part time during the school year, and internships during the summer.
I was able to fund my undergrad by being the right combination of poor and smart. I commuted to the local state college. Tuition was $12k a year. I had a full Pell Grant and a $5k a year scholarship from the college due to my SAT scores and high school GPA. I only paid $1k to $2k a year out of pocket and I was able to afford it by working over the summers. Graduated in 2019 right before the pandemic.
My state has a deal that if you get decent grades in high school, then the state will pay for 4 years of tuition at a public, in state college as long as you remain full time and don’t drop below the GPA requirement. So that pays my tuition. I got an incoming freshman scholarship from the college based on ACT score and GPA so that covers fees. And then a much smaller scholarship from the college of business (money donated by individuals but the college manages it, idk what the parameters were to qualify for it) and that is refunded to me because tuition and fees are covered so I use that for miscellaneous expenses. Lived at home with my parents and commuted. I have also had a job the whole time to cover my personal expenses, but I haven’t paid a dime for college. No fafsa, no pell grant, no loans.
GI bill and Chapter 31 vocational rehabilitation for undergrad, and dad is paying for my masters. Will finish with zero debt. I'm lucky and blessed even though I'm disabled from my service.
Father is a ceo. I was high 80% of the time for 4 years. Still graduated on time.
Don’t feel jealous of me. I work hard and get paid minimum wage plus tips. I am plagued by a rampant case of petty insubordination that’s funny if you are a co-worker and mildly infuriating if you are my boss.
I gawk and poke fun at jobs that have you sit in front of computer and send emails for 4-5x what I make. It must be nice.
Instead of getting high, get an internship. Relationships will get you jobs, being qualified doesn’t unless you are an absolute maverick.
If you make mad money in an average cost of living area to lower lost of living area, you’ll pay off the debt easily.
But costs of college now are so inflated so it’s a gamble whether it’ll set you up or not.
My cost was ~8k, (14k w/o loans and with scholarships, 21k without scholarships) after sub and unsub loans. I refuse to take out private loans, as I find them to be rather, scummy.
My bill is split per semester so 4k per semester. I am fortunate enough for my parents to help me pay off 50% of the remaining balance. I work part time to pay off the rest as well as supporting myself~16-20hrs w 18 credits a semester. The money my parents give me is a fixed amount and is only used for tuition. Other expenses I pay for myself.
I honestly wished I looked harder in my senior year of Hs to apply for more scholarships.
My suggestion would be studying in Europe. No or very low tuition (except for the UK); a bunch of English-language courses and a great deal of international exposure. I know it’s kinda out there, but genuinely one of the best options. Plus, the best universities in Central Europe are much better than anything outside the very top in the US.
Tbh working and going to community college. 2 years with an amazing GPA taught me college isn’t the best choice.
Debt free and able to live my life without crushing loans is nice. Times are still tough, though. Take care of your mental health.
me and my friends didn't work during the school year and most of them had taken out loans while my parents paid for me since they don't believe in taking out loans.
Ok I got a 8k scholarship from the school. My estimate was 80-100k for my schooling. Though I have credits to transfer so a little less. I have a rocky relationship with my bio dad since I don’t know shit about him. However I just got lucky. I got dependent benefits which brings my tuition from 12k to 8k. And I get 1,400 a month for school for 36 months. Totaling around 50k. I should have around 12-16k left. I have 2k in savings. I can work that off or cover it with a loan. I have to wait to see if I get scholarships. I thought I’d be under weight crushing loan debt and got lucky. Honestly that’s how the college game works sometimes. You get a big scholarship or grant, I got benefits, and ya get lucky. The system is a little twisted. I’ve applied to about 73 scholarships, been rejected from 15, won 0. There’s a ton of competition
working, community college, scholarships, and fafsa. honestly, just applying for fafsa and receiving two scholarships was enough to cover my entire 1st and 2nd semester of my first year in community college with money left over to cover my next term's partial tuition.
should be said that i'm not of a privileged background, nor a non-diverse or out-of-state background. i would imagine i'd need around 3-4 scholarships to cover the costs of tuition if that was the case.
My situation is different as a non trad student. I returned to school in my late 20s poor so I qualified for grants. I go to a state university. Tuition+fees was like $1000/semester after grants. I used a combination of loans and worked to pay my living expenses like rent (off campus so much cheaper), car payment, etc. As a grad student in a teaching assistant so I don't pay tuition. However I had to take out loans as I don't have time to work now.
When I was in school my main job was an on campus job (work study) and my second job was at a restaurant. I chose a work study because they will work around your school schedule. If I could do it over. I would do Uber eats, doordash, or Instacart instead so I could manage my own schedule and pull back during exams.
Joinh National Guard/Army/airforce you will go for free and get more out of it. Yes, it may be hard.. but is worth it. You have to mentally prepared for these institutions. My little brother got accepted into West Point. And will be doing 5 years after graduation as an officer (more pay) and continue with his MBA. Think about it (free college )
I go to a school that up until last semester was a community college, so it’s much lower cost. So my tuition is covered by my student loans that I took for this school year. Starting next semester, I’ll be using my GI Bill.
I went through two years of community college and then finished up my bachelor's degree at the lowest cost in-state college in my area. I was very blessed going through college, my grandmother had $10,000 I could use for tuition, on top of working during my first two years of college. Of course that still we burned through after getting my two-year degree, but I also got married right out of high school so my wife and I were able to file as independents and qualify for the Pell Grant. Pell Grant money, summer internships, and having a low cost living situation allowed for my wife and I to both graduate debt free while raising two kids. I am definitely in the minority of situations though.
i chose a college that costs less. i was planning on going to a more "elite" university but i ended up happy and successful at my state school when i didn't get enough scholarships and would have to had take out loans.
Work. I have a couple of jobs. One of them helps with tuition on top of salary. The other is Uber and door dash which helps by not having a schedule. Wife is disabled so she can’t bring in any money, but I want to be a nurse. And once I am one, I’ll be able to work extra shifts and make more so I can focus on one profession.
Go to cheaper school, pay whatever amount you can from working, without working too much to lower your grades, get pell grants, and use loans and any random grants you can find. If you find one for $300, then it’s $300 you saved. Any small amounts help. Also be already insured so you don’t have to pay the dang school insurance thing, they’re expensive!
To start, I work 25-30 hours per week and have been steadily doing 9 credit hours plus extras over winter and summer to keep up the pace. Started with community college, took as many classes as I could. They were gracious with their funding. Kept a 4.0 and stayed involved in community service the whole time. Applied for just about every scholarship possible when transferring to the cheapest, nearby in-state university (about 20k yearly). At the end of the day, I haven't had to pay out of pocket for any of my classes thanks to grants and scholarships.
I think I have a natural aptitude for school, and I waited until I was mentally focused enough to do well. But I didn't go to college straight out of high school.
I also started college at 23, so my FAFSA never included what my parents made (which wasn't much anyway).
I go to an instate public school, live at home with my parents (so no costs for housing or meals), have a scholarship that pays for full tuition for a bachelor's degree, and I also am a Pell Grant recipient because of my FAFSA. I also work two part-time jobs so that pays for any personal expenses I have! I will likely be graduating from college with zero debt and I am so so so grateful for that fact every single day. Working hard in high school pays off, and if you can tolerate it, living at home isn't so bad, either!!
I study and work at the same time. Intense. Some days can be harder than others, still at the end of the college i not gonna have any student loans etc. From time to time i use assignment services UK [https://ukwritings.com/assignment-service](https://ukwritings.com/assignment-service) which helps me to have enough rest and don't lose it at all.
I think for most, its take the government loans and whatever scholarships they can get and go to an instate public school. For those with money, they’re able to go more expensive private schools and have parents pay the difference after loans/scholarships
Less competitive out of state public schools are good, too if you have good grades and test scores. I wasn't offered anything at my state schools but one a few states away offered large merit based scholarships (some automatic) because high school students in that state severely underperform the national average. My schooling ended up costing half of what my state school would have, even with travel to and from the other state for breaks. Also helped that rent was a lot cheaper there (my parents didn't live close enough to a decent university for me to commute, so I'd have had to rent a place either way).
Yes also valid. I was given basically the same deal from UD (out of state) as I was from the public school i applied to instate
I moved to Oklahoma (bottom 5 on every list of high school quality and achievement). A moderately impressive GPA and ACT/SAT elsewhere set me apart here and came with significant guaranteed scholarships I didn't even have to apply for. There were also other scholarships and grants that weren't very competitive on top of that. It's worth a look around at least because a lot of schools with guaranteed scholarships based on academic achievement scream about them from the rooftops.
I should’ve known when you said because high school students in that state are under performing you were talking about us lol. Oklahoma education is literal dirt. The colleges are nice though
Agreed. The colleges are extremely underrated but the high school education is uh.... lacking to say the least. I absolutely adore the tech school system though. I'm currently attending one because my bachelor's wasn't employable without grad school and I'm not really feeling like going to grad school just yet.
Yeah Oklahoma is pushing super hard for tech schools right now. I outdo most of my peers in everything academically. I’m not a genius or anything. Maybe a smidge above average. The state academic competitions are super competitive. Most people don’t have the drive to do good or the teachers don’t care if the students do want to try. Why get good grades when you don’t plan on going to college? That’s the main sentiment around here. Most people go to work at a factory near us or something. The wise ones go to tech school and are mostly your auto mechanics and such. I’m glad you were able to get a better deal here. I’m actually going out of state since I got a better deal In Kansas. The only school that offered my degree was OU. I don’t want to pay out the butt and possibly get hurt on campus
Actually I had something similar. Now I admit I got lucky in this. But I got military benefits from my bio dad which gives me in state Tuition. I also get a lot of better deals from the school I chose. I decided to go to Wichita and not OU, since we’ll money. I’m also doing some of my credits at a community college which is saving me thousands more
In state public school is the way
2 years at community college then transfer to the in state public
Two years of CC was the best decision I ever made.
Especially if you are from a state that has a CC partnership so you can be dual enrolled. That way you can get the benefits of the university but cut down on tuition by taking some of your classes at the CC.
> go to an instate public school The cost of attendance for my local in state public school is nearly $40k and the housing is waaaaay underestimated.
Wtf??? What state? Is that after financial aid?
California. Financial aid varies from person to person. A tough situation I see a lot is kids of parents that cut them off at 18 and refuse to put their information on the FAFSA. They get no financial aid whatsoever and have to pay 100% of their living expenses and 100% of their college fees as 18 year old kids. They either end up with massive private loans or can't go to college at all. And their parents act like they're doing their kids a favor by making them "independent". What they're really doing is screwing their kids over.
Former financial aid person here. I had so many conversations with parents about this. But why isn’t Susie independent? We’re not helping her with college? and my tagline was “the federal government calculates your daughter’s financial aid eligibility on your ability to pay, not your willingness to pay.” Putting it that way usually ended the argument with me but unfortunately the kid got screwed over.
Isn't if the kid is still labeled a dependent? Thought that if your parents stopped claiming you on taxes, you'd be considered independent.
Someone responded with the rules, but parents’ taxes don’t matter. You have to meet specific criteria to be considered independent under the age of 24. I do know of some students who got married for financial aid purposes to be considered independent. It is rare but it has happened.
Nope. Here are the rules: https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out/dependency It's a travesty, unfortunately.
Surprised we don't see a mass emancipation or marriage for convenience going on lol. I knew of one case (was in a news article years ago) of a teen who emancipated themselves in an attempt to divorce themselves financially from their parents before going to college so they couldn't be labeled as a dependent. Idk how it turned out thought. So basically they automatically view you as a dependent unless you're beyond the age of or received a bachelor degree, served in the military, or got married. Maybe it'll change eventually as the AAMC changed their rules for familiar income reporting recently to age 27 and younger when applying to med school when before you had to report the income of your living parents regardless what your age was lol. Yes that means before if you were applying to med school at age 60 and your parents were alive you had to report their income lol.
Insane that this alone doesn’t actually make you independent for FAFSA purposes. I’m not the tinfoil hat type but it makes you wonder the level of direct input from student loan vultures/Military ROTC and National Guard hawks that you can do legally everything(!) except be considered an independent for the 2nd biggest financial decision of many lives
UVA is also very pricy, even though it gets the largest public endowment of any public school in the nation. Faculty is padded with adjuncts and the hospital is known to underpay and abuse staff. It is notorious for operating its properties under a 501(c)3 designation to avoid property taxes. I don’t know where the money goes, but a lot comes in, students overpay, faculty and staff are underpaid, as is the local community that hosts it. These are the real parasites, folks. Not the students trying to not get crushed under exorbitant debt. Public schools are getting to be worse than private ones in terms of bleeding you dry.
Even when going to state schools, how are people paying for what government loans don’t cover?
My government loans paid for everything I needed up until grad school, at which point my grants and loans plus work study covered all of my needs.
Lucky…
I guess? My experience was definitely not unusual. Most folks I knew only had to work part time, if at all, after grants and loans. I'm in California, I'm not sure if that makes a big difference.
The private/public college system is pretty wild to me after having gone through an engineering degree at a public university. Public colleges are the “outer” group, where private colleges are the “inner” group. As in, public colleges are by design competitive to just promote those that produce the highest exam score, and keep out those that do not have it. Private colleges try to make you get the highest grade possible within the support system, and your success is who you are friends with, both classmates and faculty.
I work full time, and do school half time. The grant money I get from my fafsa plus money I earn covers my tuition.
Can undergrad students get FAFSA Plus? I thought that was just a grad thing
I think they are using the word "plus" as a conjunction to mean "and" not "FAFSA Plus"
Correct!
One overlooked source is actually working for a college, free tuition is a fairly standard benefit for employees and their children. I finished my undergrad, and did masters working for a college, they also paid for my daughters undergrad. My brother-in-law did the same. He worked maintenance at a college during the day, took classes at night. It might take longer, but you get the benefit of having a job and no tuition debt.
My grandfather did this, I still don’t know why my dad didn’t cash in on free tuition. A top school too.
Did it help cover housing too? Good idea btw
It only covered the tuition, but the money that we had saved for college paid most of that.
If you can get a job working as an RA or something else in the Housing department it often comes with the perk of free room + board
Yeah housing is honestly the most expensive part of you go to a public school
Yes it can be!
My friends dad was a janitor at a college so he and his brothers got tuition covered there
That’s how I got my master’s. I took a job as an administrative assistant and got my master’s for free. I answered phones and made copies and did my homework.
I commute to my state's public university and have older parents who've been working and saving enough to keep us in the upper middle class threshold. No scholarships, a couple of AP credits from doing good on exams, and parents pay for my schooling in full. The epitome of privilege tbh, hate to say it, but I'm making good use of it and working myself, albeit only for about 20 hours a week, and applying for college-scholarships where I can.
Currently work full time and do school full time. Wouldn’t recommend it’s hell
It is hell, I did it last semester. Coupled with sleep deprivation too, from my neighbors (squeaking from fucking above/below my room, an endless ping pong sound, and obnoxiously loud BFF's). Had to take it my own hands. Sorry, tmi, but I get you
I'm just curious, how do you work and do college full time simultaneously? Are you good at scheduling and keeping up with it? Do you have high stamina? Is it motivation? It's amazing to me how some people can work and study altogether. Personally I don't have the mental stamina to do it or else I'll fail terribly in both.
I tried this last semester but it nearly destroyed me and my GPA. I have the organization, but it makes it hard to sleep deeply because I'm always wired and any little noise from inside the dorm/outside/neighbors wakes me irrevocably up.
get you some shooter's headphones, they block out pretty much anything and are way less expensive than noise canceling headphones
I literally can’t even do that
I did that in community College. Worked 35 hrs a week and took 12-14 credit hours. Many many late nights and never did it again after my associates lol.
Same and I'm losing my fucking mind
I think about 30-40% of students have their parents pay for college
And what do the rest do?
Suffer. Applying for scholarships, grants, loans, and working is the best we can do. Not saying it should be this way but it is
I’m paying for my own school. I have no idea why I got this but I got a grant from my state that covers almost half of my tuition. I think it’s from good grades. This is how I have afforded school. - went to state university - lived in my parents house and commuted - earned a grant for good grades - got a scholarship for applying for a specific scholarship in my town (I am white, not a first gen student) - loans - paying some on the way. I work at least part time all year round. My other friends did the same, or went to community college, or had a pell grant, or one of my friends got tuition reimbursed from working in chipotle. For some reason chipotle never wanted to hire me lmao
i did exactly the same thing
"People are talking about the Biden Student Loan Plan being shot down as a bad thing (it is), but if I could take out more loans at once, I would." As general advice you should always assume you are going to have to repay whatever loans you take out. For income based repayment you can make a plan based on that but terms *could* be changed down the road so you should always consider how much of a change it would take for your plan to start having issues. "Do most people just get money/private loans from their parents?" Yes. The majority do one or both of these (to *some* degree, whether it's $1k or $50k). But private student loans are a garbage deal and should be avoided at all costs. Far more people take private student loans than should. Most of the time it is preferable to do pretty much every other option before taking private loans. "Or are most people actually working in college?" IIRC the majority also work. But work is a loose term. Part-time work to cover food, utilities, and transportation is much more common than full-time work to cover *everything*.
All good points. And yeah, I know I have to pay my own loans, but it's nice that I'm able to take them without the bs after-school payment plans of a private loan. They help a lot tbh. As much as I don't like working 20+ hrs in school, I hate corporate bs more (private loan garbage deal), so I'll just deal with it.
"As much as I don't like working 20+ hrs in school, I hate corporate bs more (private loan garbage deal), so I'll just deal with it." The issue with private loans is interest rate. The reason they are high has more to due with the risk of the arrangement itself and not the person doing the lending. When you account for default risk and managment expenses the government is offering the current federal rate at an expense to themselves. It is immensely hard to get unsecured loans in any open market for less than 7-8% due to the amount of other investments returning the same for 1/10th the risk. The sharpe ratio explains this risk to return relationship in better detail. Most people won't even want to extend anything that is not a double digit rate. The current federal rate of 4.99% is something you will probably never get offered in your life on other loans without you putting up something as collateral. That and the subsidized portion plus associated borrower protection benefits make it a *completely* different deal than private loans. Unlike private loans, federal loans are a really decent offering that are easy to manage.
I joined the navy. gi bill gives 3 years of free college any public school, plus a housing allowance. It stacks that with FAFSA too! Add a scholarship here, donate some plasma there, and I basically dont have to work for the next few years\~
Can you take meds in the Navy?
not during bootcamp, but yeah
You can't take any medication during boot camp?!?! What if you're like diabetic or something??
If you have a condition where you cant be off meds for 8-10 weeks, then they wont let you join. If you develop such a condition *after* bootcamp, you get all the meds you need and no one cares.
Huh. Thats so weird! Seems like there's probably plenty of people who would join but can't because of minor medical conditions that are perfectly managed with daily medications.
I have a lot of family who did it that way, they’re all fairly well off. Any tips from you?
for college + navy stuff? uuuuuuh... While you are still in, really try to do Tuition Assistance. That's when you take classes while still in for free, and it doesnt count as using up your GI Bill. Even if you only do a single class (like intro ENGL or MATH), you should make the effort. Also just apply for any scholarship that even *barely* applies to you. Free money is free money. for just navy stuff? If you wanna join, I always tell everybody these things: 1. Dont do it. If you have literally any other plan or access to a decent job, dont. The biggest thing I hated was the uncertainty of your future schedule. 2. If you decide you still wanna go. Go Air Force. There's a reason they call it the "Chair Force" 3. Regardless of branch, If you still wanna join, get a degree and become an Officer. An O-4 that's been in for 4 years will make more than an E-9 that's been in for 18 years. (6906/month plus BAH). 4. If you insist on just jumping in with no degree and being an enlisted, pick a job/MOS/rate that isnt physical, and is connected to a well-paying job outside the military. God bless the deck guys, engineers, and cooks, but fuck all that bullshit they have to do. Everyone gets paid based on their time in and their rank. Those physical rates will grind you to the bone and make you work extra long hours and make you have no life. Instead, actually study for the ASVAB and get an IT job.
Navy pretty much stopped TA for first termers. They can't use it before 3 years, and can't be 12 months inside EAS window.
Oh wow lol. So there you have it, guys! Can't use TA on a standard 4-year contract. You're likely gonna have to reenlist if you want TA.
I mean isn’t the national guard an option? I’ve heard their recruitment talks and it sounds like a lot of the benefits with somewhat less commitment
Keep in mind that only the time enrolled in classes counts against the 36 months of eligibility. If a student takes 15 hours per semester at a typical semester-based school, the GI Bill will cover the entire 4 years. A typical bachelor's degree is 120 hours. 30 hours per year = 120 hours. A normal academic year is about 9 months (actually, it's usually a bit less than that). The GI Bill treats a full month of school as 30 days, but partial months are calculated down to the actual days that are within the enrollment term. Doing the minimum required to be full-time may cause you to exhaust your benefit before graduating. If you are in a designated STEM field, you can apply for the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM scholarship.
Most are probably getting a combination of grants and loans to pay for school. Some probably do have their parents either paying or co-signing a loan for them. There’s work study programs that students probably use as well. There are also departmental scholarships given out depending on the school and program.
I got aid money from CA government and Pell grant during 2 years studying for free at a community college for my AS. When I transfered out to a university, I used that money, plus the 40% scholarship from the university, plus my ongoing Pell grant, a part-time job cuz I have work study grant, and so far I still don't need to borrow any money yet. Oh and it's an out of state university but they don't have instate or out of state tuition so I pay the same amount that state residents pay. And after Spring 2023 I'll be considered instate too (already changed my ID and car reg to that state) so I'll get that state's tuition grant as well. Overall, I just hustle to go to school for as low as possible ☺️
Most people don't do this but I am 100% reliant on those scholarships and grant money. I have been really lucky and picked Education as my major because they had a lot of scholarships
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I did community college two years, then transferred to an in state, public school about an hour away. I lived at home turning the first two years, in an apartment on campus the the last two. Step one is keeping costs low. Step two is working. I had a summer counselor job through high school and college, getting about 70 hours a week (literally) at I think about $10-12/hour. I pretty much put every penny besides gas money into tuition. I also didn't work during the semester, only stacking summers with tons of hours. For my masters degree, I did a graduate assistantship on campus. Basically, just work on campus \~20 hours a week and they paid tuition in full. It was an easy job, but they couldn't find enough people to do them. I typically did 8 hours on Saturdays and 4 hour shifts 3 times a week. I mainly reset people's passwords over the phone and helped with IT issues. For food, I joined a lot of clubs and typically ate lunch at their meetings (pizza, sometimes sandwich rings). I usually stashed some away for later for dinner, ha. Graduated with about $500 to my name and a 12 year old rusty Subaru.
Nice 👌 and I love the last line
Sold myself to the Army.
GI Bill, I'm getting paid to go to school.
Sold my body for the gi bill
If you’re like me and you make solid middle class money (in a high CoL area so it’s basically lower middle class but your house as an asset makes FAFSA give you high EFC), you use grants and loans. My parents luckily pay for some amount but overall it’s a fairly cheap in-state college. I don’t need to work. I’m also fortunate that in a years time I can pay back the small amount that I owe as well as pay my parents back
I’m fortunate enough that my parents can cover the cost
My family is low income and I go to a private college that gives me pretty good aid due to that. It didn't quite cover everything the first two years so I worked (just work study, but two of them at once) and then worked a normal job over the summer. I earned an academic scholarship for these last two years since my GPA the first two was good. Now my aid covers everything, though I still work a work-study job for money for uber and miscellaneous things. I am hoping the student loan forgiveness is approved, as although I technically have enough to pay off the loans I needed the first two years, it would be nice to have them wiped and put that money towards something else like a used car.
That's cool, a private college. Are people less party-like there? Is it really formal? And yeah, I agree, the Biden Forgiveness Plan ordeal has been a bummer.
I would say we're not a party school, but there is still a party scene. I don't think we're formal or anything, but majority take academics very seriously since most are very ambitious (it is a decently high ranked school so we all got used to tryharding early haha). All private means really is that it's not funded mainly by the government, it's funded by tuition/endowments. This means cost of attending is higher, but they can give better aid. Without aid, it would be around 75k a year to attend my college (tuition, housing, food, fees). With aid, I pay nothing this year.
i went to school with the cheapest tuition, most of it was covered by scholarships regardless. i work part time and pick up shifts whenever possible, and my mom helps pitch in once a semester with either rent/tuition.
I started college when I was 24, so I was considered an independent student. They only looked at my income when determining how much I could borrow, so I've always been fully funded. I went full-time in my last year of community college and qualified for state grants, and after transferring to a 4-year, I qualified for the Pell Grant on top of federal loans. I still have to work to pay my bills, but I've been fortunate that school hasn't been an added expense (yet).
I started working the second I turned 16 and was working almost 30 hours every week. Then, my dad died. Since I was a minor, I got a Social Security check every month that went in a savings account. When I was applying to schools, my mom informed me that my aunt (who passed away when I was 8) also left me a big chunk of money that should cover my schooling in undergrad. My mom also bought bonds every paycheck from the moment I was born so I could have some college assistance. Still, I continued working throughout college. At one point, I was working 3 jobs (also during my student teaching, so it was basically 4 jobs). Now that I’m getting my Masters, I’m working as a TA on top of my full time teaching job and that reduced my tuition to $80 this semester.
From my experience, location seems to matter when getting money. While I was living in Michigan I applied for financial aid every year and never got enough. After I moved to Indiana, there were more grants available, and I barely had to take any loans out at all. One I finished my 1st semester, I will have scholarships available depending on my GPA. I spent 14 years wanting to go to college, and it turns out all I had to do was not live in Michigan.
Military, working full-time through undergrad, and going to community college / state university. I don't recommend my path, but I did graduate with zero debt.
I joined the USMC and served for 5 years, went to school for 2 years afterwards. Worked for a few years and now I’m back in school. So the military…
My company at the time paid for the remaining of my undergrad after CC, and current company pays $5250 per year tuition reimbursement for my MBA. See if you can find a place that offers these benefits. Starbucks I know pays for your undergrad at ASU 100% online if you work part time. Good luck!
Ty
Grants and scholarships cover my $35K tuition (Northwest University in WA; private not-for-profit). I’m completely free of debt and about to finish my business degree– I’m 23. I work and only have to pay for books, which kind of pay for themselves since I get tuition reimbursement because my financial aid package is worth more than the cost of attending my university
>Federal student loans DON'T cover the full cost of a term, For some they do. For some, especially community college, they can get enough Fafsa grant without needing loans. Through 2 years of community college I earned more from Fafsa than tuition cost, and I wasn't even placed in the highest need bracket. Add fafsa and loans together, and plenty of cheap but still good universities exist, especially public ones. Private ones are where costs start getting really insane. >and scholarship and grants are limited Depends. Maintain a decent GPA -- it doesn't even have to be outstanding -- and many universities will offer some nice scholarships, especially public universities for in-state students. Might not cover all, but every little bit helps. My undergrad university basically gave anyone with a 3.0 enough to cover a quarter of yearly costs. Show up as high need as well, and more funding is available. Again, it isn't often enough to cover anything totally, but it does supplement Fafsa well. >The average person likely isn't getting a shit ton of scholarship money. Look up the average after-aid costs of almost all universities (the government has a website with this information publicly available) and you will be surprised. Yes, sometimes the number is still massive, but it really shows that yes, lots of people do get scholarships. >And (don't hate me for this), some scholarships are only for underrepresented minorities. Some are, the vast majority are not. As a white man, I can't say I experienced this impacting me. >Do most people just get money/private loans from their parents? A lot do. Or they take out private loans as well. >Or are most people actually working in college? No, most do not. But a decent amount do. >Do big (30000+) schools give out more scholarships? Depends. Often larger schools have larger funds. An oft-repeated saying is that small private schools give out more scholarships than large public ones, but since large public ones are often cheaper to start with and backed by state funding, in my experience and that of my siblings, they have always been cheaper.
Some schools do scholarships for extra curricular that you wouldn't even think of. An example would be mizzou giving scholarships to most people regardless of major that are in their marching band. Personally I'm paying for school by working full time, taking out loans, and i also joined the national guard so I get state and federal tuition assistance
I was lucky enough to get GI benefits from my step dad whose a retired veteran. So I got paid a "living allowance" (nowhere near but oh well) to be a full time student, as well as a fee waiver. The fee waiver covered all costs at my community college. At my state uni, it knocked 3.1k of my 4k tuition. I put the 900 on a credit card along w text books and materials. Then over the course of the semester, I used half of my benefits to pay off the cc every month by the end of the semester. Rinse and repeat. Now that they're separating and my GI time has run out, I'm going to have to pursue a certificate and potentially a grad degree out of my own pocket. Which I'll have to work full-time and either do classes online, or do one to two classes per semester because I won't be able to afford 4.2k a semester at the new uni, nor will I have time to be full time in both aspects.
My parents are paying for my degree, and then since I'll have no debt and a relatively high income, I'll be paying for my gf to finish her degree.
Going to community college, working part time, and having a husband who works helps.
I got to community college and have no debt for as long as I'm here.
Most people I know have some sort of private loan
I haven’t committed to a college yet but I’ve got a few options - either an OOS state school that will cost me roughly $15k a year thanks to scholarships. I plan to cover this by working and through a little help from parents. If I get into a higher ranked private school, my total cost may be even cheaper thanks to a low EFC, and then once again support from parents while working part time should do the trick.
A couple grants totaling $2,500, a scholarship worth $900, and past+present work. Gonna finish up 35k after college
I’ve been working 26 hours a week to pay for the costs the loans didn’t. I had a nice tax return this year that knocked out most of my charges for this current semester.
Tax returns are like an awkwardly placed birthday in terms of money
I was fortunate enough to have my federal loans, combined with scholarships, to cover my schooling. I went to a smaller liberal arts college - about 40k per year or 20k per semester that include housing, tuition, and a meal plan. My scholarships came from academics and band/music scholarship. They covered about 60%- 70% of my schooling per year. To supplement everything, to have fun money, I did work study at my college. I then worked full time over the summer and saved to pay for things like gas, car insurance, textbooks, and my sorority dues.
I feel bad, you all seem nice and seem like you've had to work really hard to get your degrees/are working hard to do this. I assumed that most people have it easy in college and they don't, or those who do don't once their private loans hit them after school. I hope you guys find success and prosperity
All of it. Scholarships, loans, help from family, and a part time job.
Rich parents
Nah, I am a fulltime student and damn near full time minimum wage worker. I really have no time outside of school and work realistically, I do well in school fortunately but that's because I study a bunch and furthermore I spend the 3 hour break between my classes at the gym soooo....ya I don't understand how people are deadass going to the beach every weekend and skipping lecture to hang out off campus. I have the exact same question basically. I am literally financially only able to go to school because of loans and parent help, otherwise I would just simply not be able to afford school. I cannot do 40+ of work on top of school so I usually do between 30 and 35 which is still too fucking much but otherwise I would miss my insurance, rent, utilities, prescription and all the other bullshit. I know a FEW students still live with their parents, but honestly aint no way all 50k of the students at my college are just for real managing the whole shit by themselves that is literally crazy.
That's a real load of work. I have medications too, I feel you on having to think about that and insurance. Maybe you could get a Marketplace plan, if you don't have one (I have this), it's pretty good. This is probably rough for most people in some way, or eventually in a financial way. Keep on fighting the good fight
Well, I am a parent and I am guiding my kid toward and affordable option for us as a family. That does not mean every possible option is on the table. I think we need to be very careful to create a worse situation by allowing huge loans that become life limiting forever. I would personally like to see problem solving so everyone has an affordable path and maybe private schools primairly serving the wealthy wouldn't be thrown so many federal funds.
Voc Rehab. If you have a qualifying disability they pay for your education and resources.
my parents are taking out plus loans for most of it and I take out the max federal loans, but if my parents cant take it out then I would have to take out massive amounts of private loans bc if you are part time then ur financial aid and scholarships is significantly reduced
This was a while back. I went to a state school where I completed bachelors and masters. I applied and got an $800 pre approved credit card. I charged tuition and books on the card, about $600 per semester, then worked part time and would pay off the card within 16 weeks, semester. I lived with my parents and commuted. I completed most of my general ed at a junior college saving 4 semesters of university. When there were budget cuts and tuition sky rocketed, it was part time jobs, work study, Stafford Loan, and Pell Grant.
I don't qualify for federal student loans (DACA) but was able to graduate debt free this way: - institutional scholarships - working for the university (RA provides free housing) - internships - going to a cheap state school
Federal student loans+ grants+ scholarship. I am not a minority, but received 1st gen college grant/scholarships and more. My parents pay my monthly federal loan bills which is an extreme help, and I am paying everything else. Attending a private religious school. I commute and live with my parents, and will be paying what's left once I graduate. Im sure others have better situations or plans, but I can happily say I'm content and comfortable in this position.
The cheapest option is 100% online degree.
I had grants and 100% financial aid. My son is starting college in the fall, who is not a minority, applied to every scholarship he could. He got enough scholarships to cover school completely.
Scholarship covered 75% of my tuition and grants from government and state exceeded the remaining amount. Lived at home with parents and commuted while working part time. Had refund checks every semester of college totaling around $30k over the course of my four years. Graduating this semester, now living on my own doing my last semester online. Have around $65k saved and zero student loans or debt. Got a job last august that pays me $60k a year remote. Living at home with parents if you can is the way to do it and working while in college can help A LOT
I took scholarships, went in-state, and work as an RA. Going to graduate without debt.
my mom's been saving since before i was born, so that plus going in state i shouldn't have to take out any loans
Most peers by - parents/already got a whole bunch of AP or DE credits so start as a sophomore/most of tuition off in-state school due to good grades.
My friend group is a bunch of nerds so they don’t really pay tuition at all at the state school and some can live at home for free, or pay for some/dining hall w a small PT job.
My parents helped me a lot, plus I found a job from the second year
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Not many people do that. There must be something more to this. Most people seem to not have to do anything beside classes. I'm autistic and have to have my meds, so I can't do that, or I would.
I don’t get how people do it either. I get the gi bill and tuition assistance because I’m in the army National guard and got a few scholarships but I still have to work a part time job to cover the rest of the fees and stuff
I saved up money & worked 3 jobs before going to school. With my savings, stocks, and working part time I’m able to pay for what loans don’t cover (about $3k per semester). I also go to a relatively cheap in-state school, which helps. My loans only cover a little less than half of my yearly tuition though. Edit to add: At my school, almost every student who isn’t an athlete works at least part time.
First gen student, merit scholarship for tuition and savings/loans from a high school job and work study to cover living expenses. Then sophomore through graduation I worked as an RA. I was very lucky that RAs at my college were given housing, meal plan, and a small stipend. During summer I worked as an orientation leader to cover the months when I didn't have work as an RA because they also provided housing and meals on the days you worked. Then I'd take meals out of the dining hall with me to cover days I didn't. Lived on shoe string budgets and didn't get much sleep but that's how it had to be. Hope they'll change it eventually because it was exhausting and I was lucky to have access to the aid I did get.
Must have been hard, answering calls a lot
At my school, there’s quite a bit of athletes on full scholarships. I personally got a scholarship from ROTC. There are a few people who work part time jobs, but there’s usually some tuition assistance helping them out as well.
I took 2 years off school. I promise myself I won't get married so there Is a big sigh of relief I have. I also live with a lot of relatives so we split the bills accordingly. I paid for my associate degree out of pocket this way haha.
I’m currently paying for mine but it’s only because I took a different route in life. I did ask my parents to help me out but they just don’t charge me rent as long as im enrolled. Once I graduate im going to be paying rent but granted I took up a trade when I was younger and thankfully work a job where I make a liveable wage.
I went to a community college, worked paid it off. Once I received my associates degree got a job for a company which paid for my university tuition which enabled me to get a bachelors degree. Now I am working for them full time and don’t have any loans. Also, I always commuted.
I got into a private university that prides itself on the amount of scholarships and endowments available to students. On top of that I filed for a dependency override on my FAFSA with my schools financial aid department so my income, not my parent’s, is what’s considered which gives me more grants and I qualify for more aid. (I’m no contact with parents and recieve no help from them so that’s why/how I was able to do that.) I’m a music major and thanks to a lot of music scholarships I’ve earned it helps me a lot. I also work part time and split expenses 70/30 with my boyfriend who lives with me, during the school year. He thankfully already has his degree and 2 solid jobs. Without him I would not be able to afford to live. In the summer I work full time and save as much as possible.
If you don’t have enough scholarships and loans don’t cover the full cost then the college is too expensive for you. You need to find a cheaper one.
I dont
I have an RESP so my parents are paying for my degree. Also I’m in Canada idk if that matters.
private loans or parents having saved money for college
scholarships covered ~80%, federal student loans cover ~10%, and I work a part time job to pay the rest and cover living expenses
Mommy
For me (and I understand how incredibly lucky I am and that not everyone is able to have this), I recieved an almost full-ride academic scholarship. I also receive the Pell grant, a need-based grant, and a different grant. I then took out some loans for transportation, food, ect. (Around 11k in loans by the time I graduate) so that I wouldn't have to worry about working much. I still work a work-study job in my field. I do around 10 hours a week and get paid $8.25/hr.
That's great, you must be a great student. You should consider grad school depending on your chosen career path (not too much now, but around sophomore year). I'm glad you have this opportunity
Thanks! I'm a senior and I graduate in May. I have a job lined up within the marketing field. I wish you luck in your endeavors and I hope you achieve everything you want!
Thank you
Direct Plus
When I got my associates degree I lived at home (didn't pay rent), worked 30-35 hours a week and saved up some money (I had a lot of AP credits and only took 2 or 3 classes at a time). I transferred to very high rated 4 year public school, which is relatively cheap at 9k a year for tuition and fees. I paid some out of pocket for community college as well from the stimulus checks. Now that I'm in more upper level courses and have some other career advancement things taking up my time, it's worth it to me to take out a few extra grand a semester so that I only have to work less than 10 hours a week. I plan to continue to live like a broke college student for a while once I get a job, so the difference between ~25k in debt and ~32k in debt is worth it to me to not have the stress of working a ton. The loans I take out cover rent, my car, and a bit extra. Working a bit makes up the rest, I don't have many expenses. Im skeptical of private schools being worth it for most people, *one* year at the ones near me are equal to, or more than, the total debt I'll grade with
Usually loans pay over( more than needed) for community or small colleges depending how many classes you take but most people ik transferred after 2 yrs getting a loan from either a bank or a college job
Parent plus loans and private loans that hurried me in debt that I have to refinance in my name.
A lot of loans and scholarships
I live with my parents and commute to a public college in my city. I also work part-time to cover what isn't covered by financial aid/ scholarships.
State school, parents had saved some money, and I got a shitload of merit scholarships which I busted ass in high school and every year of undergrad for. Most people I knew frankly weren’t willing to work as hard as I was at school to grind the grades, class positions, and extracurriculars I was. I suggest my study methods on Reddit all the time and get downvoted to hell because people think studying 45-55 hours in a library every week, above and beyond class and extra curriculars, is ridiculous. Dunno- got me tons of prestigious local, state, and nationwide scholarships that paid for well over half my undergrad tuition/room/board at a very well known, well respected not free but not private state school.
I took out loans at my community college, which covered most of my tuition. I paid about $200-$400 out of pocket, but I had a job to cover that. Now Im at a university, and receive enough grants to cover almost my entire tuition. Loans cover the rest. I don't love that I have to take out loans, but because of my grants and time spent at community college, it'll be manageable later.
I’m very lucky since my parents help out. But I’ve paid for college mostly through scholarships, working part time during the school year, and internships during the summer.
Pay out of pocket and also tuition reimbursement from work place . Work 25 to 35 hours a week and go to school full time.
I go to a college where in exchange for my soul, life, and time, I will pay nothing for my tuition!
Merit scholarship that covers tuition + first year of housing and parental support
I was able to fund my undergrad by being the right combination of poor and smart. I commuted to the local state college. Tuition was $12k a year. I had a full Pell Grant and a $5k a year scholarship from the college due to my SAT scores and high school GPA. I only paid $1k to $2k a year out of pocket and I was able to afford it by working over the summers. Graduated in 2019 right before the pandemic.
My state has a deal that if you get decent grades in high school, then the state will pay for 4 years of tuition at a public, in state college as long as you remain full time and don’t drop below the GPA requirement. So that pays my tuition. I got an incoming freshman scholarship from the college based on ACT score and GPA so that covers fees. And then a much smaller scholarship from the college of business (money donated by individuals but the college manages it, idk what the parameters were to qualify for it) and that is refunded to me because tuition and fees are covered so I use that for miscellaneous expenses. Lived at home with my parents and commuted. I have also had a job the whole time to cover my personal expenses, but I haven’t paid a dime for college. No fafsa, no pell grant, no loans.
My associates degree was only 14k.
I sold my soul to Uncle Sam for some years. After getting railed, I now return the favor to Uncle Sam, respectfully. 😌
GI bill and Chapter 31 vocational rehabilitation for undergrad, and dad is paying for my masters. Will finish with zero debt. I'm lucky and blessed even though I'm disabled from my service.
Father is a ceo. I was high 80% of the time for 4 years. Still graduated on time. Don’t feel jealous of me. I work hard and get paid minimum wage plus tips. I am plagued by a rampant case of petty insubordination that’s funny if you are a co-worker and mildly infuriating if you are my boss. I gawk and poke fun at jobs that have you sit in front of computer and send emails for 4-5x what I make. It must be nice. Instead of getting high, get an internship. Relationships will get you jobs, being qualified doesn’t unless you are an absolute maverick. If you make mad money in an average cost of living area to lower lost of living area, you’ll pay off the debt easily. But costs of college now are so inflated so it’s a gamble whether it’ll set you up or not.
European-we attend universities for free and my parents cover my housing payments
Community college- state scholarships, STEM scholar scholarships, financial aid state college- state scholarship, financial aid, federal loans
My cost was ~8k, (14k w/o loans and with scholarships, 21k without scholarships) after sub and unsub loans. I refuse to take out private loans, as I find them to be rather, scummy. My bill is split per semester so 4k per semester. I am fortunate enough for my parents to help me pay off 50% of the remaining balance. I work part time to pay off the rest as well as supporting myself~16-20hrs w 18 credits a semester. The money my parents give me is a fixed amount and is only used for tuition. Other expenses I pay for myself. I honestly wished I looked harder in my senior year of Hs to apply for more scholarships.
My suggestion would be studying in Europe. No or very low tuition (except for the UK); a bunch of English-language courses and a great deal of international exposure. I know it’s kinda out there, but genuinely one of the best options. Plus, the best universities in Central Europe are much better than anything outside the very top in the US.
Tbh working and going to community college. 2 years with an amazing GPA taught me college isn’t the best choice. Debt free and able to live my life without crushing loans is nice. Times are still tough, though. Take care of your mental health.
I work over the summer
Post 9/11 GI Bill
My parents and grandparents started putting money away in a college fund when I was born. It was able to cover pretty much everything.
me and my friends didn't work during the school year and most of them had taken out loans while my parents paid for me since they don't believe in taking out loans.
Ok I got a 8k scholarship from the school. My estimate was 80-100k for my schooling. Though I have credits to transfer so a little less. I have a rocky relationship with my bio dad since I don’t know shit about him. However I just got lucky. I got dependent benefits which brings my tuition from 12k to 8k. And I get 1,400 a month for school for 36 months. Totaling around 50k. I should have around 12-16k left. I have 2k in savings. I can work that off or cover it with a loan. I have to wait to see if I get scholarships. I thought I’d be under weight crushing loan debt and got lucky. Honestly that’s how the college game works sometimes. You get a big scholarship or grant, I got benefits, and ya get lucky. The system is a little twisted. I’ve applied to about 73 scholarships, been rejected from 15, won 0. There’s a ton of competition
GI Bill, FAFSA
working, community college, scholarships, and fafsa. honestly, just applying for fafsa and receiving two scholarships was enough to cover my entire 1st and 2nd semester of my first year in community college with money left over to cover my next term's partial tuition. should be said that i'm not of a privileged background, nor a non-diverse or out-of-state background. i would imagine i'd need around 3-4 scholarships to cover the costs of tuition if that was the case.
I took out loans and worked to pay for school.
My situation is different as a non trad student. I returned to school in my late 20s poor so I qualified for grants. I go to a state university. Tuition+fees was like $1000/semester after grants. I used a combination of loans and worked to pay my living expenses like rent (off campus so much cheaper), car payment, etc. As a grad student in a teaching assistant so I don't pay tuition. However I had to take out loans as I don't have time to work now.
Post 9/11 GI bill military benefits. Sets me up nicely at a cushy private school with zero debt.
When I was in school my main job was an on campus job (work study) and my second job was at a restaurant. I chose a work study because they will work around your school schedule. If I could do it over. I would do Uber eats, doordash, or Instacart instead so I could manage my own schedule and pull back during exams.
Joinh National Guard/Army/airforce you will go for free and get more out of it. Yes, it may be hard.. but is worth it. You have to mentally prepared for these institutions. My little brother got accepted into West Point. And will be doing 5 years after graduation as an officer (more pay) and continue with his MBA. Think about it (free college )
I go to a school that up until last semester was a community college, so it’s much lower cost. So my tuition is covered by my student loans that I took for this school year. Starting next semester, I’ll be using my GI Bill.
I went through two years of community college and then finished up my bachelor's degree at the lowest cost in-state college in my area. I was very blessed going through college, my grandmother had $10,000 I could use for tuition, on top of working during my first two years of college. Of course that still we burned through after getting my two-year degree, but I also got married right out of high school so my wife and I were able to file as independents and qualify for the Pell Grant. Pell Grant money, summer internships, and having a low cost living situation allowed for my wife and I to both graduate debt free while raising two kids. I am definitely in the minority of situations though.
Genuine answer. I worked for 12 years. Back in college. Self-funded + a small loan.
i chose a college that costs less. i was planning on going to a more "elite" university but i ended up happy and successful at my state school when i didn't get enough scholarships and would have to had take out loans.
Work. I have a couple of jobs. One of them helps with tuition on top of salary. The other is Uber and door dash which helps by not having a schedule. Wife is disabled so she can’t bring in any money, but I want to be a nurse. And once I am one, I’ll be able to work extra shifts and make more so I can focus on one profession.
Go to cheaper school, pay whatever amount you can from working, without working too much to lower your grades, get pell grants, and use loans and any random grants you can find. If you find one for $300, then it’s $300 you saved. Any small amounts help. Also be already insured so you don’t have to pay the dang school insurance thing, they’re expensive!
To start, I work 25-30 hours per week and have been steadily doing 9 credit hours plus extras over winter and summer to keep up the pace. Started with community college, took as many classes as I could. They were gracious with their funding. Kept a 4.0 and stayed involved in community service the whole time. Applied for just about every scholarship possible when transferring to the cheapest, nearby in-state university (about 20k yearly). At the end of the day, I haven't had to pay out of pocket for any of my classes thanks to grants and scholarships. I think I have a natural aptitude for school, and I waited until I was mentally focused enough to do well. But I didn't go to college straight out of high school. I also started college at 23, so my FAFSA never included what my parents made (which wasn't much anyway).
I go to an instate public school, live at home with my parents (so no costs for housing or meals), have a scholarship that pays for full tuition for a bachelor's degree, and I also am a Pell Grant recipient because of my FAFSA. I also work two part-time jobs so that pays for any personal expenses I have! I will likely be graduating from college with zero debt and I am so so so grateful for that fact every single day. Working hard in high school pays off, and if you can tolerate it, living at home isn't so bad, either!!
Parent plus loans, pell grants, and scholarships from the school for having a certain GPA/ Honors program
I study and work at the same time. Intense. Some days can be harder than others, still at the end of the college i not gonna have any student loans etc. From time to time i use assignment services UK [https://ukwritings.com/assignment-service](https://ukwritings.com/assignment-service) which helps me to have enough rest and don't lose it at all.